| Jake and Amir | |
|---|---|
The show's new title card (2010–present). |
|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Starring | Amir Blumenfeld Jake Hurwitz |
| Country of origin | New York, United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 412[1] (as of 12 May 2011) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 1–5 minutes |
| Production company(s) | CollegeHumor |
| Broadcast | |
| Picture format | 720p 16:9 |
| Original run | May 23, 2007 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Hardly Working |
| External links | |
| Tumblr blog | |
| Production website | |
Jake and Amir is a web series starring CollegeHumor writers Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld from New York, United States. They play humorous versions of themselves; Jake is generally depicted as a "regular guy", and Amir as his annoying and obsessive co-worker, the pair acting as a comic double act. The series began on May 23, 2007, and new videos are currently posted every Tuesday and Thursday on CollegeHumor's website and the series' Tumblr blog. The show won a Webby award in 2010.
Contents |
Jake and Amir is one of CollegeHumor's longest-running series.[2] The series started out as Hurwitz and Blumenfeld simply making short comedic videos on their own; though both of them were CollegeHumor employees, the videos were just a hobby, posted on Vimeo. As they became popular, CollegeHumor began incorporating them into its website as an original feature, collaborating with the pair to create further episodes.
The series generally takes place at Jake and Amir's desks, though occasional episodes will move to other parts of the office or even a different location altogether. Some episodes have a common theme or MacGuffin that the episode revolves around (i.e. buying a guitar, explaining the economic crisis), while others are more stream-of-consciousness, with events moving unpredictably in random directions.
Jake is usually portrayed as the "straight man", acting as the rational, normal one of the pair. More recently, Jake has played the "funny man" role with his character portrayed as self-centered and ignorant. It is strongly implied that, while seemingly irritated by Amir, Jake actually craves Amir's attention, and has become increasingly more annoying to the rest of his coworkers.
Amir, by contrast, is usually portrayed as the "funny man". Amir is obsessed with Jake, and often says or does annoying things to try to spend time with him. Amir is also obsessed with fast food chain McDonald's, especially with their Chicken McNuggets. He is unhealthy, doesn't do any work, and can't do basic math. He can also act very aggressive or physically abusive towards his co-workers. It is implied in Cousin that the only reason Amir keeps his job at CollegeHumor is because his cousin Linferd secured that he would have it for the rest of his life. Linferd also informs Jake that Amir was abducted for 5 years of his life, losing his ability to speak and perform simple tasks, thus explaining why Amir behaves so irregularly.[3] In the episode "Happy Holidays" it is implied that Amir is aware that they are being filmed and that Jake is unaware that they are being filmed.
Jake and Amir's characters have several catchphrases that they say frequently (although they have recently become less common). Amir's include "Oh sheesh y'all, 'twas a dream", "So ace", "For the (epic) wolf", "Dinner tonight?", and "Gullies" (meaning "friends"). Jake's include "You gotta learn how to be funny, man." Recently Amir has taken to saying "Another day at the races." He also considers himself a good freestyle rapper despite the fact that no one appreciates his rhymes. He has also admitted to pre-writing all of his freestyles, when in the episode rap battle 1 and 2 he is shamed by Hoodie Allen and his coworkers because of this.
In earlier episodes Amir would film a hand held short mini-series named Ace and Jocelyn who according to Amir were "astronaut accountants from outer space." Jake would frequently get annoyed by Amir and his "mini-series" because Amir would often take it too far (going as far as poisoning Jake's food with Visine for the sake of the episode).[4]
On October 11, 2011, Jake and Amir announced the release of a paid episode. The episode, Jake and Amir: Fired, deals with Amir being fired by a fictional new CEO of CollegeHumor. This generated considerable attention in online media due to the unusual and pioneering nature of selling an episode of a web series,[5][6] though a more conventional DVD version was also sold alongside the digitally streamed one. The episode was the first CollegeHumor long-form release to rely solely on its own crew for production.[7]
Jake and Amir won a Webby Award for Best Comedy: Long Running Form or Series in 2010, with Amir Blumenfeld also capturing the Best Individual Performance award that year.[8]